Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has no wish to see German counterpart Angela Merkel ousted (Image: GETTY)

Mr Kurz appeared to come to the defence of Mrs Merkel as she battles to quell a domestic rebellion over her migrant policy.

Interior Minister Mr Seehofer, who is part of Mrs Merkel’s coalition partner party the CSU, is calling for for Germany to turn back migrants at the country’s border if they have previously applied for asylum elsewhere.

Mr Seehofer’s plans could pull his party out of the coalition if he does not secure an agreement from Mrs Merkel, who worked through the night to thrash out a pan-European compromise at the EU summit in Brussels.

Details of the plan are vague, with countries able to “opt in” to take in migrants. It is not clear if the deal will be enough to placate Mr Seehofer and his party back in Berlin.

Coalition partner Horst Seehofer is calling for a tougher approach to immigration to Germany (Image: GETTY)

Mr Kurz said there would be consequences if Germany followed through with Mr Seehofer’s idea of imposing systematic controls at its borders.

Clearly acknowledging it would lead to more migrants staying in Austria, Mr Kurz said: “We would then have to do everything in our power to avoid Austria being overwhelmed and to protect our country in the best possible way.

“That means we would – at least – take the same measures at our borders. Which would lead to a certain domino effect.

“This would lead to a certain dynamism along Europe’s borders – but with all the negative consequences, such as traffic jams and the closure of internal borders in the European Union.”

Mr Kurz also said Mr Seehofer’s stance would not be in accordance with the EU’s Dublin Regulation on asylum.

He told Politico: “The Dublin rules require people who have been registered to be returned to the country in which they were first registered — and certainly not to just any other European country.”

As a landlocked country in a mountainous region, Austria is unlikely to be the first port of entry for irregular migrants, ie those trying to enter Europe illegally.

Mr Kurz said: “Anyone who knows the geographical situation of Austria knows that people would have had to parachute in.”

Mrs Merkel is under enormous pressure domestically (Image: GETTY)

I have an interest in a stable German government with which we can work together

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz

The 31-year-old also stressed he had no desire to see 63-year-old Mrs Merkel, who has been Chancellor for 13 years, ousted from her position.

He explained: “What would be my interest in that?

“I am the head of government in Austria. I therefore have an interest in a stable German government with which we can work together.

“I hope the German government will pull in the same direction, because that is good for Germany, for neighbouring countries such as Austria and also for the European Union.”

The issue of migration is high on the summit's agenda (Image: GETTY)

Mr Kurz’s comments demonstrate that despite broad agreement on the idea of strengthening the bloc’s external borders, there is clear divergence between Mr Kurz and Mr Seehofer, as well as with Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini, when it comes to managing migration from one EU country to another.

Rather than criticising Mrs Merkel, Mr Kurz took a swipe at Italy and other countries on the edges of EU, claiming they were not taking enough responsibility for migrants entering the bloc through their territory.

He said: “The big issue is that many countries in which migrants have entered European territory for the first time are still not registering them – partly not unintentionally, for sure.

“Our goal is a European solution. That is, I believe, the right way. But I fully share the assessment that the administrative processes can be improved bilaterally as well.

Austrian election 2017: The Austrian People's Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 61 of the 183 seats

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, the leader and top candidate of the Austrian Peoples Party (OeVP) addresses his supporters during an OeVP's election party after the Austrian Federal Elections

“We want to be bridge builders. We want to bring together the different positions that exist in the European Union, try to find compromises and above all to reduce the tensions that have arisen in Europe – especially during the refugee crisis.

“These are now increasingly growing tensions between North and South, East and West.

“Some states that look down on others, others that feel like second-class member states.

“This is an extremely negative development for the European Union and we have to act against it.”

Acknowledging the importance of making progress on a coherent EU-wide migration policy, he added: “For years I have said: the practice of waving people through to the centre of Europe must stop.”

However, he said the focus should be on “proper external border protection.”

Mr Kurz is a strong advocate for stricter asylum and migrant policies, and backs the idea of disembarkation centres outside of Europe, as well as returning migrants who leave Africa by boat to the country from which they set off.

He said: “For years I have been fighting for us to try to resolve the migration issue at the external border, so that we do not take people who set off with smugglers to Europe to Europe, but return them to countries of origin, of transit or to protection zones.

“If this decision is taken today, it will be a huge step in the right direction. It will be a turning point on the migration issue.”